Choodi Puja / Chudi Puja / Tulsi Puja

I planned and planted a tulasi early in May this year(2009) with the intention of doing tulasi puja in July. I got a plant from out local farmer's market called Thai Basil as I did not find the Indian Tulsi plant around here.

Every year in the month of Shravan Gowd Saraswat Brahmins have Tulsi puja at home. In 2010, Shravan Month begins on August 11 and ends on September 8. Married ladies perform this puja and worship both Tulsi Goddess and Sun God on Friday's and Sunday's of the Shravan month. Choodi's or specific flowers tied with dibrankolo or druva grass are offered to tulsi. Nine or more choodi's are prepared for the puja and after offering to the Tulsi Goddess. My mother uses Ratnagandhi or May flower along with Mitka Flower (it has a lovely fragrance and grows in color of yellow or white), Shanka Pushpa (which we grew in our home) and periwrinkle or sadapushpa (which means that it grows everyday). She also clean our doorstep with water and make design with white chalk on the doorstep and offer 2 choodi's to the doorstep.

7-9 Druva grass are tied with 3-5 flowers to make choodi. I did not find any druva grass near my house here in US, so I used the grass available in my lawn. I also used lily flower to make the choodi's. After doing the puja for 2 weeks, I took a photo of my tulsi plant which has grown to 4 times the size than when I had bought it. My mother saw the photo and told me that it is not the tulsi we worship nomally in India. Thai basil is called kamakasturi in India and not considered strictly to be tulsi--thats why the name Thai basil. In such cases, I always remember my Grandmom's saying-- she would always say "something is better than nothing". It is the thought of doing the puja counts rather than having correct flower, grass or plant :).

The remaining choodi's are offered with haldi and kumkum to elder women who give their blessings to younger women. I offer the remaining chudis to my home temple God's or I offer them to the Sunnyvale temple. My mom also posts the choodis and kumkum to many relatives who live in other cities.
My mother would prepare panchkadayi as prashad to Tulsi Goddess. If there is no time to prepare panchkadai, you can also offer sugar or jaggery as offering to the Goddess.

In the photo: Pova Panchkadayi

There are no mantra's or shlokas to do the puja, just show aarti to Tulsi goddess. Apply haldi kumkum to Tulsi and sprinkle rice grains around her.Then finally offer her a little prashad and water and a choodi. Distribute the remaining prashad to your family and the remaining water as "teerth". Also pray to the Sun God after performing the Tulsi puja.


Update 2010: I found Tulsi at Coconut Hil, an Indian store near my home. Here is my tulsi:

How to make ghee

Ingredients
1 kg unsalted butter

Method
Put the unsalted butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Kepp on medium or low flame. Stir occasionally while heating. Heat till you get the pure smell of ghee and a brownish crust is formed at the bottom.

Remove from heat immediately. Don't allow the brown crust to become black or else it will leave a burnt flavor in the ghee. Let it cool down thoroughly. Store only the yellow liquid which floats (or solidifies if the weather is very cold) on top in a airtight container. According to Ayurveda the ghee contains fat which is hot in nature and when taken in small quantities everyday, helps to nourish all the tissues in body. 1/4 teaspoon of ghee eaten in the morning every day can help in weight loss as it kindles the agni or heat in the digestive system. The brown crust which is formed at bottom when making the ghee contains helps to gain weight and strength. The crust part can be separated from the yellow oily ghee and can be mixed with the dough of roti or chappatis. Or it can be mixed with a little milk, cream and sugar to make halwa. It is excellent food for toddles and young children who are very active. 

 I usually make ghee from 1 kg butter and keep only a small quantity required for a month's use. Storing in the freezer helps keep the ghee to retain its flavor over the course of time. 

Tips & Caution: My mom always advises to be "inside" the kitchen when you are making ghee. There have been cases where people have wandered to complete other chores and the ghee catches fire due to over heating. If the ghee catches fire, just switch off the gas and cover the vessel with a lid to cut off the air supply for the fire. Never make the mistake to pour water over the burning ghee as it will splutter and cause serious burns. Ghee should be removed from heat once it is done; especially if you are heating it on a coil heater like in many homes in US.

Indian Festival Dates for 2009

Staying in US, it is hard to remember the dates of the festivals celebrated in India. As children or the parents don't get holidays for Indian festivals, it is challenging to keep a track of all the dates. My parents usually inform me whenever any festival is nearing. I found this helpful article posted by Pratibha of "The Indian Food Court" listing the dates of various Indian Festivals for 2009. Click here for a list of Indian holidays for 2009.

Farmer's Market

Where to find organic and locally grown produce in US? The answer is farmer's market. It is like the regular Sabzi mandi's in India. It took me a year after living in California to discover that we have two farmer's markets near our home. There is a Farmer's market in Mountain View and Sunnyvale (Bay Area). The Mountain View farmer's market has greater number of stalls and variety of produce than the Sunnyvale Farmer's Market. We visit Farmer's market almost every weekend to buy fruits and vegetable. We get some very good quality organic vegetables and fruits here. Many varieties of mushrooms are also available. In summer, one finds very very sweet peaches, plums, strawberries, blackberries, blue berries, watermelons, cantaloupes, pluots, oranges and nectarines. In winter we shop for apples, pumpkins, pumpkin flowers, pumpkin greens, Bartlett pears and Persimmon. There is a large variety of green vegetables like beans, spinach, dill, bitter melon and other leafy vegetables. Click here to know more about which organic products are vital.

Here are some produce of the Mountain View farmer's market captured on camera.

Various color bell peppers

Peanuts


Spicy breads


Indian chutney's and masalas (Sukhi's Stall)

Lovely flowers

Cherry tomatoes

Green Vegi's

Raspberries, Blackberries and strawberries packed with antioxidants


Organic carrots and beets

Cabbage

10 pound bags of orange

Different variety of grapes


Chinese eggplants


Summer squash

Some Interesting Online Articles

Life:

5 steps to loving your life
Judgement Calls

Health:
Easy ways to cure acidity
8 Healthy Snacks to Keep in you Office Drawer